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Topic: Getting a second job (Read 2276 times)

I had a friend who was a police officer in Germany. He had a second job at a sports club as the bartender. He did it to pay off bills from his divorce.

My brother has a 9 to 5 job, like me, but he does basketball refereeing in the evenings and on weekends. He'll occasionally take a vacation day, too, for tournaments that start on Fridays. It keeps him in spending money that doesn't have to be claimed as income, because it is considered an honorarium rather than a wage. And keeps from having to give it to the STBXW. He can make $2-5,000 a year, depending on how many games he does at what level - college/university games pay more. And it helps keep in him in shape.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

My dad was self-employed for most of my life, inherited the business from his dad. He, self-admittedly, didn’t pay close enough attention to the industry, and by the time I was in college, he could no longer make a living doing just that job. So he went to work for the post office and still has his own business on the side. And even after he retires from the Post Office, he’ll still work his own business because he likes it so much. He’ll run his shop until he dies.

Similarly, things were happening with Dave’s company. Dave didn’t like the way the company was going, but really liked the work and his coworkers. He got a primary job with a different company in the industry and works for the first company as a “consultant”. So, two jobs. Not sure if either of them is actually full time, as Dave is pretty close to retirement.

I know several people with side jobs. Some doing it to get out of debt, some to save up for a house, some for other reasons.

Dh and I are building a business that is separate from our full time jobs. It can be argued that this is a 2nd job for both of us (and one with very minimal pay until it really takes off). But you know, that's what it takes sometimes to build a business. Neither one of us can quit our day jobs just yet, although we are on a 4-5 year plan for me to quit mine.

Maybe it's more common in other parts of the world. So I was curious to know if that was right or if I'd gotten the wrong end of the stick. Are a lot of people doing this? Is it expected?

I'm in the U.S. It's not expected but it's not uncommon. Lower income people may work 2 jobs on a regular basis just to make ends meet. Others may take a side job for a specific reason and it's usually not meant to be permanent. They may want to pay down debt or save for a big expense without going into debt (house, wedding, vacation). Sometimes it's done to prepare for retirement from the main job, a part-time job in a field the person wants to learn or enjoys. If the person wants to go into business for themselves they may start out in a side business before switching over full-time.